Abstract
BackgroundIn an industrial area, the asymmetry between the weights of the economic interests compared to the public-health needs can determine which interests are represented in decision-making processes. This might lead to partial interventions, whose impacts are not always evaluated. This study focuses on two interventions implemented in Taranto, Italy, a city hosting one of the largest steel plants in Europe. The first intervention deals with measures industrial plants must implement by law to reduce emissions during so called “wind days” in order to reduce PM10 and benzo [a] pyrene concentrations. The second one is a warning to the population with recommendations to aerate indoor spaces from 12 pm to 6 pm, when pollutant concentrations are believed to be lower.MethodsTo analyse the impact of the first intervention, we analysed monthly PM10 data in the period 2009–2016 from two monitoring stations and conducted an interrupted-time-series analysis. Coefficients of time-based covariates are estimated in the regression model. To minimise potential confounding, monthly concentrations of PM10 in a neighbourhood 13 km away from the steel plant were used as a control series. To evaluate the second intervention, hourly concentrations of PM10, SO2 and polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed.ResultsPM10 concentrations in the intervention neighbourhood showed a peak just a few months before the introduction of the law. When compared to the control series, PM10 concentrations were constantly higher throughout the entire study period. After the intervention, there was a reduction in the difference between the two time-series (− 25.6%). During “wind days” results suggested no reduction in concentrations of air pollutants from 12 pm to 18 pm.ConclusionResults of our study suggest revising the warning to the population. Furthermore, they evidence that in complex highly industrialised areas, air quality interventions cannot focus on only a single pollutant, but rather should consider the complex relationships between the different contaminants. Environmental interventions should be reviewed periodically, particularly when they have implications for social constraints. While the results of our study can be related only to the specific situation reported in the article, the methodology applied might be useful for the environmental management in industrial areas with similar features.
Highlights
In an industrial area, the asymmetry between the weights of the economic interests compared to the public-health needs can determine which interests are represented in decision-making processes
For the years 2009–2019, PM10 and Sulphur dioxide (SO2) data recorded by the regional environmental authorities at the following two monitoring stations were analysed (Fig. 1): a) The first station, named “Machiavelli”, is located in Tamburi, the neighbourhood close to the industrial area and the mineral stockyards; b) The second is located in to allow consideration of a neighbourhood (Talsano), about 13 km from the industrial area
Each day was flagged as true positive (TP), true negative (TN), false positive (FP), or false negative (FN) according to the ex-post evaluations of forecasting performed by the regional environmental authority that was made periodically available on the internet [22]
Summary
The asymmetry between the weights of the economic interests compared to the public-health needs can determine which interests are represented in decision-making processes. An approach that focuses only on one aspect while neglecting the others is not able to sufficiently capture the variety of such complexity due to effects and feedbacks that are entirely unpredictable This may be the case for interventions dealing with a single pollutant, neglecting the connections between it and other contaminants, or it could be a situation where the acceptability and social implications of an environmental measure are underestimated, resulting in an increased burden of distress on particular groups of people [1,2,3,4]. The asymmetry between the weights of the economic interests compared to the public health aspects can determine which interests are represented in decision-making processes As a consequence, this often leads to the implementation of partial environmental interventions, whose impacts are not always evident and relevant [5]
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